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Science 2014-06-10

Crescendo Bioscience to present multiple studies at 2014 EULAR Meeting

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 10, 2014 – Crescendo Bioscience, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN), today announced that Vectra® DA data will be featured in eight posters at the 2014 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) Annual Meeting, June 11-14, 2014, in Paris, France. Vectra DA is a quantitative, objective multi-biomarker test to measure disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The Vectra DA test offers insight into the biological processes that drive disease activity to help rheumatologists manage RA and improve ...
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Science 2014-06-10

AP-NORC releases new analysis on Californians' experiences with long-term care

Chicago, June 10, 2014—The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research has released an issue brief containing results of a survey on long-term care in California. With a particular focus on demographics, the issue brief provides new data on how Californians are, or are not, planning for long-term care and their views on the role of family. This information is vital as policymakers are currently grappling with how to plan for and finance high-quality long-term care in the United States. "This issue brief takes a focused look at long-term care attitudes and ...
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Medicine 2014-06-10

Fermentation of cocoa beans requires precise collaboration among 2 bacteria, and yeast

Good chocolate is among the world's most beloved foods, which is why scientists are seeking to improve the product, and enhance the world's pleasure. A team of researchers from Germany and Switzerland—the heartland of fine chocolate—have embarked upon a quest to better understand natural cocoa fermentation and have published findings ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. "Our studies have unraveled the metabolism of the rather unexplored acetic acid bacteria in the complex fermentation environment," says corresponding author Christoph Wittmann ...
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Science 2014-06-10

Violent crimes could be prevented if felony charges were reduced less often, study finds

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A UC Davis study comparing violent misdemeanor convictions with their original criminal charges has found that subsequent violent crimes could be prevented if criminal charges were reduced less often during plea bargaining. The small, preliminary study, posted online June 9 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, re-analyzed data on 787 individuals under age 35 who had violent misdemeanor convictions and purchased handguns in California in 1989 or 1990. The goal was to assess the impact of reduced criminal charges on gun purchases and subsequent ...
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Medicine 2014-06-10

Telehealth improves forensic examinations for sexual abuse

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Researchers at UC Davis and other facilities have shown that telehealth consultations for clinicians at rural hospitals improve their ability to provide forensic examinations for sexual abuse. Published in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect, the study showed that clinicians with access to expert UC Davis nurses provided more thorough and nuanced exams, improving their ability to gather evidence and to make an accurate diagnosis. "Providing telehealth support really improves the quality of these forensic exams," said first author Sheridan Miyamoto, ...
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Medicine 2014-06-10

NYU and UCSF researchers develop a framework for monitoring oral cancer

Each year, approximately 22,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer. The five-year survival rate of 40% in the U.S. is one of the lowest of the major cancers, and it has not improved in the past 40 years. More people die each year in the U.S. from oral cancer than from melanoma, cervical, or ovarian cancer. Worldwide, the incidence of oral cancer is increasing, particularly among young people and women, with an estimated 350,000 – 400,000 new cases diagnosed each year. "The major risk factors, tobacco and alcohol use, alone cannot explain the changes in incidence, ...
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Science 2014-06-10

Dangerous, underpaid work for the undocumented

ITHACA, N.Y. – Illegal immigrants don't hold the most dangerous jobs in America. That kind of work pays a decent wage for the risk to life and limb, and undocumented workers are barred from those jobs. Yet there is plenty of hazard, risk and occupational injury for the uncounted millions of illegal immigrants doing the "merely dangerous" work no one else wants – without a pay premium from employers who take advantage of that labor pool, a Cornell University – Penn State University study reveals. "Undocumented Mexicans receive effectively no wage premium for working ...
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Medicine 2014-06-10

Mayo Clinic researchers discover new form of cancer

ROCHESTER, Minn. — June 10, 2014 — This is the story of two perfectly harmless genes. By themselves, PAX3 and MAML3 don't cause any problems. However, when they combine during an abnormal but recurring chromosomal mismatch, they can be dangerous. The result is a chimera — a gene that is half of each — and that causes biphenotypic sinonasal sarcoma. The tumor usually begins in the nose and may infiltrate the rest of the face, requiring disfiguring surgery to save the individual. Because Mayo Clinic pathology researchers have now described the molecular makeup of the rare ...
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Science 2014-06-10

How much testosterone is too much for women after menopause?

CLEVELAND, Ohio (June 10, 2014)—Testosterone supplementation for women is a hot topic. A new pharmacokinetics study of a brand of testosterone cream for women approved in Western Australia has been published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). For women after menopause, it took 5 mg, the lowest dose of this product, to raise testosterone back to a premenopause level. "In the United States we do not yet have an approved testosterone product designed for women," says NAMS Executive Director Margery Gass, MD. "As a result, American ...
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Technology using microwave heating may impact electronics manufacture
Technology 2014-06-10

Technology using microwave heating may impact electronics manufacture

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Engineers at Oregon State University have successfully shown that a continuous flow reactor can produce high-quality nanoparticles by using microwave-assisted heating – essentially the same forces that heat up leftover food with such efficiency. Instead of warming up yesterday's pizza, however, this concept may provide a technological revolution. It could change everything from the production of cell phones and televisions to counterfeit-proof money, improved solar energy systems or quick identification of troops in combat. The findings, recently ...
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Science 2014-06-10

The real risks of growing up with bipolar parents

This news release is available in French. Montreal, June 10, 2014 — Bipolar disorder (BD) is among the 10 most burdensome medical conditions, according to the World Health Organization. The disorder is known for its dramatic highs of extreme euphoria, racing thoughts and decreased need for sleep, as well as its profound lows of sadness and despair. Because it is also associated with a heightened risk of suicide, substance abuse, hypersexuality, familial discord and aggressive behaviour, BD affects not just those suffering from it, but also those around them — especially ...
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New permafrost is forming around shrinking Arctic lakes, but will it last?
Environment 2014-06-10

New permafrost is forming around shrinking Arctic lakes, but will it last?

Researchers from McGill and the U.S. Geological Survey, more used to measuring thawing permafrost than its expansion, have made a surprising discovery. There is new permafrost forming around Twelvemile Lake in the interior of Alaska. But they have also quickly concluded that, given the current rate of climate change, it won't last beyond the end of this century. Twelvemile Lake, and many others like it, is disappearing. Over the past thirty years, as a result of climate change and thawing permafrost, the lake water has been receding at an alarming rate. It is now 5 metres ...
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Public oversight improves test scores in voucher schools
Social Science 2014-06-10

Public oversight improves test scores in voucher schools

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Requiring private schools that receive public money to report student test scores improves academic achievement and ultimately enhances school choice, a Michigan State University scholar argues. In a pioneering study, Joshua Cowen and colleagues found that voucher schools in Milwaukee saw a large jump in math and reading scores the year after a new law required them to release the results. During the four years before the law was enacted, math and reading scores declined or remained stagnant. The study, which appears in the journal Educational ...
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'All systems go' for a paralyzed person to kick off the World Cup
Science 2014-06-10

'All systems go' for a paralyzed person to kick off the World Cup

This news release is available in German. According to researchers in the Walk Again Project, all systems are go for a bold demonstration of neuroscience and cognitive technology in action: On June 12, during the opening of the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil, a paralyzed person wearing a brain-controlled robotic exoskeleton is expected to make the first kick of the football championship. The Walk Again Project is an international collaboration of more than one hundred scientists, led by Prof. Miguel Nicolelis of Duke University and the International Institute for ...
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Science 2014-06-10

Snowballs to soot: The clumping density of many things seems to be a standard

Particles of soot floating through the air and comets hurtling through space have at least one thing in common: 0.36. That, reports a research group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is the measure of how dense they will get under normal conditions, and it's a value that seems to be constant for similar aggregates across an impressively wide size range from nanometers to tens of meters.* NIST hopes the results will help in the development of future measurement standards to aid climate researchers and others who need to measure and understand ...
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Charging portable electronics in 10 minutes
Physics 2014-06-10

Charging portable electronics in 10 minutes

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (http://www.ucr.edu) — Researchers at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering have developed a three-dimensional, silicon-decorated, cone-shaped carbon-nanotube cluster architecture for lithium ion battery anodes that could enable charging of portable electronics in 10 minutes, instead of hours. Lithium ion batteries are the rechargeable battery of choice for portable electronic devices and electric vehicles. But, they present problems. Batteries in electric vehicles are responsible for a significant portion of the vehicle ...
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Science 2014-06-10

New study shows that oatmeal can help you feel full longer

Chicago, IL, June 10, 2014: New research published in the Nutrition Journal reveals that calorie-for-calorie, even a serving of instant oatmeal is more filling than a ready-to-eat (RTE), oat-based cereal. Researchers found that eating a bowl of instant oatmeal for breakfast is more satiating and helps to manage hunger better than the same amount of calories from a leading oat-based, cold cereal, even when consumed in smaller portions than previously found. Frank Greenway, M.D. and colleagues at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University ...
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Medicine 2014-06-10

Limiting carbs could reduce breast cancer recurrence in women with positive IGF1 receptor

Lebanon, NH (June 10, 2014) - Dartmouth researchers have found that reducing carbohydrate intake could reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence among women whose tumor tissue is positive for the IGF-1 receptor. The study, "Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence Associated with Carbohydrate Intake and Tissue Expression of IGFI Receptor," will appear in the July issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. "There is a growing body of research demonstrating associations between obesity, diabetes, and cancer risk," said lead author Jennifer A. Emond, an instructor in ...
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Syracuse University geologists confirm oxygen levels of ancient oceans
Environment 2014-06-10

Syracuse University geologists confirm oxygen levels of ancient oceans

Geologists in the College of Arts and Sciences have discovered a new way to study oxygen levels in the Earth's oldest oceans. Zunli Lu and Xiaoli Zhou, an assistant professor and Ph.D. student, respectively, in the Department of Earth Sciences, are part of an international team of researchers whose findings have been published by the journal Geology (Geological Society of America, 2014). Their research approach may have important implications for the study of marine ecology and global warming. "More than 2.5 billion years ago, there was little to no oxygen in the oceans, ...
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Medicine 2014-06-10

Lead abatement a wise economic, public health investment

ANN ARBOR–Childhood lead exposure costs Michigan residents an estimated $330 million annually, and a statewide remediation program to eliminate the source of most lead poisoning would pay for itself in three years, according to a new report. "Economic Impacts of Lead Exposure and Remediation in Michigan," compares the cost of four well-documented impacts of lead exposure­--increased health care, increased crime, increase in special education, and decline in lifetime earnings--with the cost of lead abatement of high-risk homes. The report is a collaboration between the ...
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Science 2014-06-10

The whole truth

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Children learn a great deal about the world from their own exploration, but they also rely on what adults tell them. Studies have shown that children can figure out when someone is lying to them, but cognitive scientists from MIT recently tackled a subtler question: Can children tell when adults are telling them the truth, but not the whole truth? Led by Laura Schulz, the Class of 1943 Career Development Associate Professor of Cognitive Science, the researchers found that not only can children make this distinction, but they can also compensate for incomplete ...
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Wolves in wolves' clothing not all the same
Science 2014-06-10

Wolves in wolves' clothing not all the same

New research co-authored by University of Calgary alumna Erin Navid provides evidence that British Columbia's mainland wolves and coastal wolves are more distinct than previously believed. The research, published today in the scientific journal BMC Ecology, affirms what Chester Starr, an elder from the Heiltsuk First Nation on BC's remote west coast, and his people have always known: 'Timber Wolves' occupy the mainland of the British Columbia coast and 'Coastal Wolves' live on the nearby islands. Starr's insight provided motivation for the study. "What makes this study ...
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Coho salmon: Pinks' and chums' eating cousin
Science 2014-06-10

Coho salmon: Pinks' and chums' eating cousin

Newly published research co-authored by scientists at Simon Fraser University and the Raincoast Conservation Foundation shows juvenile coho salmon benefit from dining on the distant remains of their spawning pink and chum cousins. While juvenile coho salmon feed directly on spawning pink and chum salmon carcasses and eggs, even coho with no direct contact with spawning pink and chum benefit from their nutrient contributions to stream ecosystems. The new research shows that juvenile coho abundance is up to three times higher in streams with abundant pink and chum compared ...
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Genetics reveal that reef corals and their algae live together but evolve independently
Science 2014-06-10

Genetics reveal that reef corals and their algae live together but evolve independently

New research reveals that Caribbean corals and the algae that inhabit them form a remarkably stable relationship -- new knowledge that can serve as an important tool in preserving and restoring vital reef-building corals. A scientific paper describing these new findings by a team of marine biologists at Penn State University will be published as a cover article in Molecular Ecology on 10 June 2014. Coral reefs are important for protecting shorelines, providing seafood, and generating millions of dollars in recreation revenue each year, but rising water temperatures due ...
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Medicine 2014-06-10

Miriam Hospital study shows how to make statewide health campaigns more effective

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Researchers from The Miriam Hospital have found that adding evidence-based weight loss strategies to a statewide wellness campaign improves weight loss outcomes among participants. The study and its findings are published online in advance of print in the American Journal of Public Health. Lead researcher Tricia Leahey, Ph.D., and her colleagues chose to conduct a study among participants in Rhode Island's annual, three-month statewide health campaign. Called Shape Up Rhode Island (SURI), the campaign was founded in 2005 and takes a grass roots approach ...
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